This invention relates generally to heavy industrial equipment normally having roll-over protective apparatus associated therewith. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved operator's protective structure which may be removably secured to a piece of heavy equipment and which will protect the operator in the event that the piece of the equipment and the operator become buried.
Virtually all major construction projects are carried out, at least in part, with the use of heavy equipment. In recent years, federal regulations have mandated that such equipment be provided with some type of protective structure around the operator's compartment to protect the operator from injury should the vehicle be overturned. As a result, heavy equipment such as the CP-323 Virbratory Soil Compactor manufactured and made commercially available by Caterpillar Inc. is designed to include such protective apparatus.
In addition, there are many known examples of such protective apparatus and improvements thereto. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,712 discloses a plurality of demountable panels for enclosing the conventional roll-over structure associated with such heavy equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,134 discloses a protective plate supported by a frame over the operator's station, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,261 discloses an operator's enclosure fabricated of sheet metal, a portion of which is perforate.
Unfortunately, heavy equipment machines are often used in excavations which are deeper than the height of the equipment itself, and the prior art protective structures provide little protection should a cave-in occur burying the equipment and the operator.